We spent a little over 5 days on the island in 2005. It wasn't enough time. We've been meaning to go back ever since. We keep choosing other islands. Until now.

Timing is everything.

It was an interesting experience for us. We had just started traveling. I think we might call it an awakening of sorts. A Thin Space. It felt like such a powerful place and we had numerous moments that led us to believe our time there was somehow purposeful. Situations that caused us to glance at each other in the midst of Fit, as if to say, "Is this seriously happening?"

I don't know. Maybe I've had a lot of those experiences in my life.

We have always regarded a return visit as an answer to many of the questions we left with. Perhaps that's why we've put it off for so long. There's something there for us to learn, something we weren't quite ready to receive last time.

Maybe we'll be met with the same inspiring situations, the same conversations with strangers that seemed profoundly directed at us, but the wisdom gained since that time will help us respond with more than shock and wonder.

Maybe we're the ones who've changed.

Either way, we have intentions for this time to be a spiritual journey, of sorts. We want to listen to the island, hear what it wants to tell us. Be still with it. Quiet. Listen to the waves. Walk through the jungle. Look out at the sea. Meditate. Feel the rain on our skin.

Kauai is a place of renewal, to be sure. No matter what, we'll come back better for the experience.

Newest column is up at Art & Musings! Head over there to check it out.

"Sometimes I think we like to overcomplicate things in order to justify procrastination. As children, art was easy. No one expected us to meet any sort of arbitrary, high-minded standard of excellence. We just made things because we felt like it. We wanted to see what the colors looked like, how the materials felt on our fingers. It was purely experiential."

I really enjoy making these. Sometimes I feel as though I don't get to decorate properly for the holidays, because of our endlessly busy schedule, small home, and ever-growing studio needs. I have dreams one day of elaborate decorations. One day. :)

In the meantime, I've made it a tradition to make and share ornaments with you. Last year I made yellow and orange "Solar Balls" so it seemed fitting to work with more "moon" colors this year. I would probably say they're more "mother of pearl" colored than anything else. New materials means fancier ornaments! Like pearls or opals, these really do shift in color right before your eyes.

Apparently many of my collectors simply hang theirs in a window all year. Fun! They can sparkle all day long and glow like the moon all night. For this reason, I now think of these more like small, spherical paintings that I simply release during the holiday season, rather than specifically holiday ornaments. It's up to you. :)